The problem with the Blue Sky program is that it prices renewables as a premium
over the standard rate (of primarily fossil fuels). When fossil fuel prices go
up, so do people's renewable energy.

But here's the rub:
Renewable energy is price stable and predictable. Once in the ground, renewable
energy costs are fixed and unchanging because there's no fuel cost. People
subscribing to Blue Sky shouldn't be penalized with higher prices when
fossil fuels go up, because their purchase of renewable energy doesn't
change in price.

Austin Energy had a similar program years ago
called Green Choice. Subscribers got their green power at locked-in prices for
ten years. The program was so successful, Austin Energy had to use a lottery
system to add new subscribers -- demand for green energy was too high, and they
couldn't get enough to meet all their customers' demand. What people
were buying was price stability and piece of mind -- something you can't
get with fossil fuels.

Gasoline is up about 50 cents a gallon now
because of Putin's invasion of Crimea... price of wind? No change.

Utilities tend to build solar following the nuclear model they are familiar
with, that is, in large centralized production facilities. Centralized
production makes sense for nuclear (and fossil fuels as well) because the fuel
is very energy dense and it's easier to manage waste products (spent fuel
for nuclear, ash and gases for fossil, heat for both) when there are fewer
sources.

But why go centralized for solar, building large farms over
tens or hundreds of acres? Solar is diffuse, the photons scattered in modest
but steady quantities over the entire surface of the planet. Why build devices
to gather this diffuse input and concentrate it in one spot, only to turn around
and spread it out again to diffuse end users? Why not just locate the collector
at the end user and avoid the costs of a distribution system and transmission
losses?

Utilities are accustomed to thinking in large, centralized
production terms, but maybe it's time to rethink their business model. Why
not take a cue from Ma Bell and lease hardware to individual residential
customers? Let every home have its own mini power plant instead of a single
mega plant servicing thousands of homes.